


Two kinds of people

by Aliyah_Faith



Category: BBC Radio 1 RPF, One Direction (Band), Radio 1 RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-22
Updated: 2013-07-10
Packaged: 2017-12-15 17:59:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 16,209
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/852404
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aliyah_Faith/pseuds/Aliyah_Faith
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Falling in love was never something Nick had planned to do, especially not in high school, and most certainly not with his opposite in nearly every way. And he definetely never thought that love would be this bumpy and shaky of a road. But everything always works out in a love story, right?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Waking up early in the morning was never fun. Waking up early in the morning for school, was even worse. More specifically, waking up to a child screaming at the top of her lungs at 6 in the morning was even worse, at least in Nick’s opinion. It wasn’t that he didn’t love his little sister, he really did. He would rather hang out with her, than people his own age most of the time. But she had the tendency to be annoying. She was 9, and a total know-it-all. She never stopped talking, she was generally pretty nosy, and she was so loud. That was the worst, how loud she could be. Especially now, at six in the morning, as she stood in the doorway to his room and sang/screeched a rendition of ‘Call Me Maybe’, which was probably one of the worst songs on the radio right now. He rolled in his bed, letting his fingers grip the nearest pillow as he whipped it in the general direction of the doorway, letting a triumphant smile slide across his face as he heard the resulting ‘thump’ followed by an ‘oww’.

“That's not nice, Nick. I'm gonna go tell mom that you hit me and you're gonna be in big trouble..” Carlee whined, stomping down the hallway and down the stairs. Nick laid there for a few more minutes, enjoying the silence before he willed himself up and out of the bed. He stood there looking around the room for a few moments. There were boxes all over the place. Though they had moved in a week ago, he hadn’t unpacked anything other than his bed stuff and half of his clothes. Nick didn’t want to move. And it’s not like many people do, but to him it didn’t make sense that they move right now, instead of waiting until the end of the school year when Nick would be done and gone. But no, his dad had gotten a great offer and transferred to a place over 600 miles away. So of course there was no other option but to pull Nick out of his senior year, when he had six months left and make him transfer. Yeah, he was slightly bitter about it all. He had to transfer in in the middle of the year, hopefully be able to graduate with the same amount of credits, and worry about making friends. Well.. to be honest he wasn’t really worried about making friends. He had never been awful at that. It just came natural to him.

He stood in the center of the room for a few more minutes, sobering up some more before he slid out of his room and to the bathroom, taking a quick shower. He got out and dressed in his basic daily outfit, which consisted of a plain pair of dark wash jeans and an old t-shirt, he really didn’t dress to impress. He brushed his teeth and ran a towel through his hair, then let it drop where it was, not really bothering with making it look good. He pockets his phone and grabs his bag with a few notebooks and pens inside and walks down the steps, gliding through the kitchen and grabbing his keys off the key holder. It’s almost 7 now, he has twenty minutes to get to the school. His sister was sitting at the table, talking to their mom, when he walks in. Carlee looks up from the table; mouth full of cereal and glares. Nick returns the glare and then ruffles the top of her hair before moving to the counter and grabbing out a granola bar for the road.

“You're not going to stay for breakfast?” His mom asked, he just shook his head and walked out, stopping to slide on his shoes. He really just wanted to get to school and get this all done with.

~~

The first few days went better than he had expected. He made a couple friends, both girls, named Emerson and Kylie. He only had lunch with them though. They were twins, they looked alike, but couldn’t have been more different. Kylie was the wild one. She had her hair longer, she talked fast, and she talked a lot. She had something to say about everything, whereas Emerson was more reserved, spent a little more time paying attention to the smaller things about people. But Nick enjoyed being around them both. He liked the bonds between siblings. They were special, he had two older brothers that he wasn’t too close with, and a younger sister that he was nearly attached to the hip with.

It was the beginning of his third day there when he met Louis Tomlinson. And it was a day he probably wouldn’t forget. He had arrived early, talked to Emerson and Kylie for a few moments, and then made his way to his first period: English. He was OK with this class, it was easy, it had always come easy to him. He sat down in his place near the back and watched all the people file in. About ten minutes to, a small group of guys piled in, two out of the three he recognized as guys from the class, although their names escaped him at the moment. The third one however, wasn’t familiar. He was a little bit shorter, in a pair of tighter jeans and a t-shirt. His hair was styled perfectly to rest on his head. He had a pretty boy look, he also had the uptight rich boy look, but Nick wasn’t one to judge on appearance. They got closer and sat in the seats in front of him. He wasn’t really listening to what they were saying. People from the room fawned over him, talking to and welcoming him back. Nick sat there ignoring everyone, wondering where exactly he had gone. Nick wasn’t exactly sure how to handle this situation, but he could feel his annoyance slowly building up, the more that the smaller one talked, bringing more people over. By third period, he had found out that nearly everyone in the school had an obsession with this kid, his name was apparently Louis and he had every class with Nick so far. And each class was the same. Louis sat making smart ass remarks and talking to the people around him, hardly paying any attention to the class, which made Nick almost positive that there was no way this kid was passing at all.

He walked into lunch and immediately sat down by the twins and started quizzing them.

“Louis. Who is he? What’s his story?” Nick asked, leaning across the table. Emerson just looked at Kylie, knowing she was going to burst out into a huge story. Kylie didn’t disappoint. She clapped her hands to her face as her eyes widened.

“Louis? As in Louis Tomlinson? Oh my god..he’s…ugh. I cant explain it. He's so cute, and he’s funny and he’s on the football team and he has really pretty eyes...and-” She started, and at that point Nick just turned away and zoned out, hearing all he needed to hear. Louis was a jock, apparently a cocky one based on his attitude in the past few classes. He was basically someone Nick needed to avoid. Emerson leaned over as Kylie got up to go grab some food.

“You should get to know him, he’s…friendly” She mumbled in response to Nick’s annoyed look, as he glanced over to the corner of the room where Louis sat with a bunch of other guys, laughing loudly. Nick just shrugged. Emerson smiled and lowered her voice again. “And I'm pretty sure he plays for your team” She finished up, causing Nicks head to whip in her direction. She allowed an easy smile to creep to her face. “Just saying..never seen him date a girl.” She said. Nick shook his head.

“I don’t do jocks…pun intended” He said, letting a smile come to his face, trying to end the conversation. It didn’t work, he glanced back over at their table, unable to look away for too long. There was just something about the smaller, loud, and rambunctious boy that was appealing, and pulled Nick in. “So why haven’t I seen him around the past couple of days?” Nick asked, glancing back to Emerson, who just let a small chuckle out and looked at her water bottle.

“He was suspended for fighting, ten days. Today was his first day back” She spoke, Nick raised his eyebrow and glance back at the table, watching the soft lines that appeared on Louis’ face as he laughed. He didn’t look like he could hurt a fly. He looked small and delicate. Emerson must have seen the doubt on his face, because she spoke up and commented on his unspoken statement of Louis’ innocence.

“Louis’ not superficial or typical…he’s just…wild. If there’s anything going on at the school that’s rowdy or semi-illegal, Louis is involved. He's a partier, but he can be really down to earth. There’s really no way to describe him, really. We talk sometimes, he’s friends with everyone” She finished as Kylie sat down. Nick watched the smile come to Louis’ face again, then studied his bright eyes, which shifted to Nick’s almost immediately. Louis let his smile turn into a smirk and he winked, a playful look on his face, all innocence that Nick had seen moments ago was gone. Nick looked away quickly and decided it would be best to stay away from Louis Tomlinson.

That proved to be a challenge though, Louis was in literally all of his classes. And in each class, Nick felt like Louis was watching him, although he didn’t look up from his desk unless necessary, he was afraid to catch Louis’ eyes. It wasn’t until the last ten minutes of his last class that Louis spoke directly to him. They were allowed the free time because most all the work was done and the day was close to over. Louis walked over and dropped himself into the empty seat in front of Nick, turning around in it and smiling.

“Hi, I'm Louis, what’s your name?” He asked, that innocent smile back on his face. Nick glanced up from his page and then around the room, before looking back at Louis, making absolutely positive that he was talking to Nick and nobody else.

“Uhm. I'm Nick” He mumbled out, Louis smiled.

“Nicholas..Cute name” He spoke and Nick would have corrected him on the name, but he couldn’t resist rolling his eyes and muttering ‘glad I have your approval’ instead. Louis laughed, leaning forward until his face was in close proximity to Nicks. “Smartass, I like that. If you're free Friday, I'm having a party… You should think about coming. I’d love to get to know the new guy.” He spoke, standing and ruffling the top of Nicks hair which laid there haphazardly on his head, before he walked back to his seat. Nick just stayed quiet sitting there. No way was he going to hang out in the company of a narrow minded, slightly annoying but still alluring, jock. He would do his best anyways. Not that his best ended up being good enough.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Falling in love was never something Nick had planned to do, especially not in high school, and most certainly not with his opposite in nearly every way. And he definetely never thought that love would be this bumpy and shaky of a road. But everything always works out in a love story, right?

As it turned out, avoiding the person that basically runs the school was hard. Especially when you shared each class with him. Nick tried his hardest for the next week to ignore Louis, which was harder than anything he’s ever done. Louis made it hard. Nick managed to speak to him as little as possible and didn’t go to his party that Friday, but apparently there was another one this Friday. Louis went out of his way to talk to Nick in each class, to tell him how nice his hair looked (when Nick didn’t even bother brushing it that morning) or to pester him about the party again, like he was now. Louis sat in front of Nick, butt literally on the desk, legs off to the side, looking down at him.

“Come on..it’ll be fun. And you can meet more people.. It’ll be a welcome to the school party” Louis begged again, relentlessly trying to get Nick to agree to go to the party tonight. Nick just shook his head.

“Homework” He muttered, looking away from the pout that was no doubt shaping on the smaller boy’s pretty lips. Nick had chastised himself many times for letting his mind wander to those pretty lips more than once , over the past few days. Louis laughed.

“Its only third period, we don’t have homework yet, you forget I'm with you in all of your classes, Nicholas..” He spoke, and Nick would have glared at him for calling him that, had his brain not been tripping on how softly Louis spoke his name. Louis hopped off the desk and turned, squatting so he was looking up at Nick, in his line of sight. “Wanna know what I think? I think you're afraid to hang out with me..Afraid I’ll be too much fun? Let me tell you something…There’s only two kinds of people in the world, the ones that entertain, and the ones that observe. I entertain…I’d love to know which you are..I could keep you entertained..” He spoke, and Nick just sat still, not sure if Louis was nonchalantly offering Nick sex or not. Louis’ voice left the deeper husky one it was and went back its normal smooth one, thank god. “Bring the twins, the girls you hang out with. I haven’t spoken to Emerson in a while, we can all get re-acquainted.” He grabbed Nick’s pen from his hands gently and printed a number on the top of the blue notebook on the desk before standing and pocketing the pen.

“If you change your mind, text me” He spoke, turning to walk past Nick and down the aisle, letting his left hand slide through Nicks hair one last time as he passed, his fingers gently tugging on the bottom, Nick’s head going with, turning to glance at Louis as he walked away, letting his eyes slide down the length of his retreating form. Nick was so frustrated he could puke. He normally wasn’t so tense around people, he made friends easily. He dated a fair amount, at least back in his old school/town. He didn’t mind flirting, but there was something about Louis. And he wasn’t sure what it was. Louis just seemed like trouble. A big warning sign went off whenever he was near. Nick just eyed the number on his notebook for the rest of the class and tried to ignore the melodic laugh coming from the back.

Lunch came and Nick didn’t mention the party to the girls sitting across from him. He just chewed his food, taking a drink, and talking when appropriate. Kylie spent the time talking about a jerk from her last class, until about halfway through lunch when she suddenly stopped talking. Nick glanced up from his plate to see why, as he felt a body slide down by his, mistakenly glancing over into the endless blue orbs, that sparkled mischievously.

“Have you given any more thought to my party tonight?” He asked, Nick just glanced across the table and caught the eyes of the twins. Emerson looked calm and almost passive, but Kylie’s eyes were wide, her mouth gaped. Louis noticed this and smiled, looking from them to Nick.

“Nicholas..You didn’t tell them?” He scolded, looking at Kylie. “You guys can come too, I told him..” Louis spoke. Kylie just nodded her head quickly.

“Of course.. We will be there” She reassured. Louis let the corners of his lips lift into a grin and he turned looking at Nick.

“I guess I’ll see you later” He said, standing and walking back over to his table, a triumphant smile on his face and his hips swaying just a little too much, because he felt Nick’s gaze. As soon as he was gone, Kylie leaned across the table and swatted him in the head.

“Oh my god. Are you kidding me right now??” She squealed, Nick just raised an eyebrow and glanced back down at his food. “Don’t even act like you didn’t know, were you not going to tell us? We are so going to that party!! He's into you.” Nick shook his head and looked up to argue but she shushed him and continued talking. “No, don’t interrupt, oh my god, he was looking at you like I look at shoes and Emerson looks at cake, Nick! And my lord, did you hear him say Nicholas? I'm not even his type or a person with that name, but my panties dropped, I swear” She spoke, Emerson just smiled, half listening, and half ignoring her sisters antics. Nick just sighed and sat there for the next ten minutes hearing about how perfect Louis Tomlinson was.

~~

It was absolutely no surprise when he was dragged to the party. His mom didn’t seem to mind at all, she just gave him the usual ‘no drinking, no drugs, no sex’ talk, which he nodded at trying to look earnest as he stared at the wallpaper in the kitchen, trying to figure out why the past owners thought rooster wallpaper was a good idea. He drove, swinging by to pick up Kylie and Emerson. Kylie knew where Louis’ party was, so she was giving him the instructions. She sat rambling quickly the whole time. It wasn’t ten minutes of driving before Nick parked in a big parking lot, filled with cars. He hopped out, pocketing his keys and raising an eyebrow. They stood in front of a beach and trees, a few people trying to get a bonfire going and what appeared to be half the school dancing around and talking, some music coming from a speaker that was set up near the fire.

“It’s not at his house?” Nick asked, walking towards the group with the girls. Kylie just shook her head and Emerson laughed.

“God no… I'm sure his parents would kill him..” She mumbled. They got closer and were spotted instantly. Louis came flying at them, arms out, pulling them all into an awkward group hug.

“Guys!! You came!” He spoke, voice clear. He obviously wasn’t drunk yet, or he didn’t have alcohol at the party (which Nick doubted). They managed to slip away from him for a few hours, until he popped up while they sat around the fire. “You ladies mind if I steal Mr. Tall-Dark, and Incredibly handsome, here?” He asked, motioning towards Nick, who just held the drink in his hands watching the fire, refusing to actually take a drink. He would have, but he needed to drive. Emerson just smiled and Kylie shook her head. Louis smiled. “Good. C’Mon..” Louis spoke, hand out for Nick, who was sitting looking up at him. Louis looked like he had had a few drinks already. Nick just nodded and stood, handing Emerson his drink and wiping the sand off his pants. Louis let out a giggle and slid his fingers in Nick’s, tugging him away from the beach and through the woods. Nick started to get a little panicked, looking around and trying to ensure he would know how to get back. They started going uphill a bit, around rocks and trees. Louis tripped a few times, laughing and looking back at Nick. They came to a stop near a clearing, up by the cliffs. Nick stood at the top and leaned forward slightly, glancing down to the beach to where the party was. Louis smiled and looked out, they stayed quiet for a moment before Louis asked Nick to tell him about himself. Nick was shocked but did so anyways. He found himself talking about his little sister, his mom, his favorite music, food, everything. Louis was easy to talk to, even an intoxicated Louis. Louis just smiled when Nick was done and looked around, standing still. Nick asked about Louis, who just ignored him and spoke.

“It’s pretty up here..” Louis mumbled through a smile, his slurred voice missing the Ts in it. He dropped to the ground and opened a smaller bag that Nick hadn’t noticed before. He pulled out what looked like fireworks. He lit one and laughed, barely making it to his feet and over to Nick before it shot up. He yelled and watched it erupt into the sky. Nick knew the laws. The ones that shot up were illegal in this area. He frowned and looked at Louis, who lit two more and stepped back, watching, eyes wide, yelling with the screams from the beach.

“Hey, these are illegal to have. ” Nick spoke, Louis smiled.

“They are, are they officer? Wut’r you gonna do? Arrest me?” He asked, stumbling over to Nick, leaning against his chest looking up at him. “You're not a real police cop…” He spoke, giggling at his choice of words. “But if you happen to have a set of cuffs, I’m willing” Louis spoke, wiggling his eyebrows as he staggered backwards, arms out for Nick. Nick’s eyes widened and he lurched forward as Louis got closer to the edge, fingers gripping the younger boy’s white t-shirt, tugging him away from the edge. Louis smiled and slid his hands up into Nick’s hair, stepping closer.

“Thank you, my knight in shining armor..” He spoke, letting his fingers play in Nick’s hair. “Nicholas, you need to relax, dance, and drink” He said, a playful smile on his face. Nick just sighed, kind of irritated and wanting to go home. He untangled himself from Louis’ grasp. Louis just reached out and grabbed his hand.

“Or do you need to get laid? We could go back down and find you a nice girl too drunk to know any better” He spoke, eyes watching Nicks expression closely, most likely trying to see if Nick was gay or not. Nick just shook his head.

“No thanks. Just let me go.. Come back down to the party with me and then I can leave without leaving you on a cliff” He spoke, pulling his hand, which Louis was gripped onto. “Let me go” Nick demanded, feeling his irritation build up more and more with each of Louis’ antics. Louis just smiled.

“Aww…Nicholas is getting angry” He had a playful smile across his lips. Nick let his eyes narrow, tired of playing games.

“Stop fucking calling me that like you know me. Why don’t you grow up?” He asked, jerking his hand away. “You're 18, and on top of the whole fucking school. Everyone loves Louis Tomlinson, because hes so funny, he’s so cute, he’s so smart and athletic. But they apparently don’t see the Louis I do, because the Louis I see barely knew me a week before basically offering me his body multiple times, the Louis I know, is annoying as fuck and I would rather stab my ears than hear his laugh one more time. And it’s only been a week. How fucking sad is that? Seven days of knowing you and I regret not letting my mum home school me many years ago. “ Nick spoke, turning and making his way back down to the beach, gathering Kylie and Emerson and heading home. The guilt didn’t hit him until he got home, and was left alone in the silence that was his room.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Falling in love was never something Nick had planned to do, especially not in high school, and most certainly not with his opposite in nearly every way. And he definetely never thought that love would be this bumpy and shaky of a road. But everything always works out in a love story, right?

Nick didn’t sleep that night, probably because he was busy fighting off feeling guilty. He normally didn’t feel bad, he was an asshole, plain and simple. He always had been, always would be. He was blunt and brutally honest, they tangled in his best and worst qualities. But for some reason this time he felt bad, and he did his best to shake off the feeling by telling himself it was fine and he was honest. But each time he would have himself convinced that he shouldn’t feel bad, he would close his eyes to sleep and picture Louis’ face. He would watch as the corners of Louis’ pretty soft lips curved down with each word Nick spoke, and the guilt would hit him again, like a freight train. He couldn’t even distract himself by hanging out with Carlee. Because she had turned into a nine year old social butterfly. Friday night she had a friend over, and the night after she went to a friend’s house. He spent the rest of the weekend pacing his house, avoiding all calls/texts from the girls who were asking what had happened. He knew he would have to face them Monday but until then he wanted to avoid it and hope that the feeling would leave.

He was sitting alone around noon on Sunday, when the thought hit him; he left Louis on the cliff. He left a drunk and stumbling boy, on a cliff. He wanted to hit himself, but instead he groaned and rolled off the couch jogging up the steps and into his room to find his bag. He dug through it, trying to find the notebook that Louis had printed his number on, only to find that he left it at school. Nick groaned and dropped onto the bed, aware that he would never be able to remember it by heart. He knew it had a five, two sixes and a three but he had no idea what it was. Nick laid there until his mom called for dinner, to which he just shouted back and said he wasn’t hungry, before sliding into the bathroom for a shower. When he got out his sister was sitting on his bed, holding his phone.

“Should you really be touching things that aren’t yours?” He asked, walking over to the boxes and digging through for some clothes before stepping into the closet and quickly sliding on his boxers and a pair of sweatpants, not bothering with a shirt because it would just tangle up as he slept anyways. He stepped out and towel dried his hair, before tossing the towel on top of the box and sitting down.

Carlee smiled at him and looked up from his phone, she was most likely playing her animal game. It was linked to his Facebook, she wasn’t allowed to have a Facebook, so he let her use his phone and occasionally laptop to play the games. Most of his friends knew that it wasn’t him anyways. He scotched back against the headboard by her and she set his phone down by his leg, leaning into his side. He played with the ends of her hair and they stayed quiet for a few moments.

“Why didn’t you come eat dinner? Are you ok?” She asked, her voice was softer than it’s normal and loud counterpart, she only used it when she was scared or worried. Nick just smiled and glanced down at her.

“I'm fine, just wasn’t really feeling hungry, I suppose..” He said. She looked dubious, but didn’t get the chance to push the question any further before he spoke again and changed the subject. “So how has your school been going? You don’t have a boyfriend yet do you? Because if you do and I haven’t met him yet, ooohhh boy… ” Nick finished, turning to look down at her with a smile on his face. She just laughed and shook her head.

“Nope. All the boys in my grade are just yucky…What about you? Have YOU met any boys?” She asked, looking up at him and raising her eyebrow, giving a scrutinizing gaze. Nick almost broke and told his nine year old sister everything because of that face. But he managed to just look away and shake his head. They shared some more playful banter before she asked if she could sleep in his room, even though it was a school night. His bed was bigger, and he didn’t mind either way. He just agreed and shut off the lights. Impatiently waiting for school tomorrow.

~~

Nick was the one of the first few people in the school that Monday. He just stood by his lockers, waiting to see Louis pass, or waiting to see Louis arrive to his locker, which was across the hall. No sign of him. About ten minutes before school started, Emerson walked in, and found her way to Nick, Kylie wasn’t tagging beside her. Nick questioned this immediately, they were literally never not together.

“She didn’t feel well this morning..so she stayed home” Emerson said, the worry and concern evident and bold in her eyes and face. Nick just nodded and turned, opening the locker they all shared. He pulled out the few books he would need for the first few classes, put a pen in his pocket, and reached for his notebook, the one with Louis’ number on it. He looked at it for a few moments, attempting to commit it to memory. He must have looked at it for longer than was socially acceptable because Emerson cleared her throat and spoke up. “So what happened? And don’t ignore me or say nothing, you went up there with him, came down alone and pissed..I heard he didn’t come down for awhile after we left, and then when he did, he hooked up with that one Thomas guy, the one that’s always hanging around him That's what I heard at least, err……Kylie heard and filled my head with theories. So tell me the truth, I wanna know” She said, leaning against the locker. Nick sighed and shut his locker, he stared at a spot of peeling paint on the locker by his and decided what to say. The warning bell chimed, letting them know that they had five minutes to get to class before they were considered late. Nick just shot Emerson a smile and mumbled ‘lunch’ as he slid past her, in a hurry to get to class. He got in there and sat in his usual seat, grudgingly noting that while two of Louis’ tag-a-long friends were in there, Louis wasn’t yet. He tapped his pencil on the side of his desk lightly, waiting, and trying not to glare at the black haired one, whom he was pretty sure was named Thomas. Why did he care that Louis hooked up with him? Answer: He didn’t…At least that’s what he tried to convince himself. The bell rang and it was nearly fifteen minutes into the class period when Louis’ laugh shot from the hallway and the door opened, he came walking in, looking like he didn’t have a care in the world. Louis sat down in the desk two in front of Nick, but one row to the left, and the teacher had paused her lesson, turning and staring at them.

“May I ask what was so important that it took you fifteen minutes to get into my class this morning, and without a pass I might add, Mr. Tomlinson?” She asked, placing her hands on her hips. Louis just lifted his shoulder in a shrug and leaned back in his seat, lifting his hands up a little.

“Don’t shoot officer…, ” He started, and Nick could see a lazy smile spreading across Louis’ face. “I can give you a good excuse, but you’ll have to wait a few minutes for me to come up with one, because I just woke up” He spoke clearly and slowly. His friends snickering and shooting him smiles. The teacher just stood there for a few moments, most likely weighing her options. After a few seconds she just sighed and turned away, Nick had the feeling this was a usual thing, it hadn’t been since he was there but the way she reacted to the situation seemed like she was just going through the motions and never actually planned on punishing him. Nick sat the whole class period watching the back of Louis head. He didn’t move much, glanced at his friends and talked quietly occasionally, like normal. He didn’t look like he was really affected, but Nick still felt guilty. The bell rang and Nick stood up to catch him and talk but he was already out the door. Nick sighed and grabbed his books, figuring he would talk to him next period. The second period he had no luck either. Louis ignored him completely and was up and out of the room when the bell rang. Same with third period, except in that class Louis sat behind him so he couldn’t even ogle at him. Nick was quick after third period, as soon as the bell rang he was up too, following Louis out the door and grabbing his arm.

“Louis, I wanna talk..” He muttered, realizing almost immediately how lame his voice sounded. Louis’ friends were by him instantly, looking at Nick, who was holding onto Louis’ wrist. Louis tugged his arm from Nick and just looked at him, bright blue eyes swirling with something that almost knocked Nick back a few steps. He looked furious.

“Go, I’ll meet you in there” He spoke to his friends, eyes not leaving Nick’s. They all eventually took the hint and walked away, a few people walked slowly by them, trying not to be obvious but still listen and watch as to why the new guy had Louis stopped in the hallway, there were rumors that had flown about Nick following Louis up the cliffs and coming down alone, although none of them were close to true, they still made people pay attention. “What do you want, Grimshaw?” He asked. Nick felt the frown that tugged his lips and he made an attempt to wipe it off before Louis saw. He had called him by his last name. That was new.

“I just wanted to say that I.. Uhm.. That I was sorry. For what I said. I was-” He started, but Louis laughed and raised and eyebrow, cutting him off.

“If you think that what you said hurt me, you're wrong. I couldn’t care less about what you have to say to me or about me. You won’t break me down with a few simple sentences that I have heard before.. So if you were looking for the satisfaction that you did the right thing by apologizing so you can sleep at night, there it is..” He spoke, his voice calm, eyes set, looking completely unaffected. But part of him looked upset. A small part of him, that Nick could see.

“Why are you bothering with lying? I'm sorry I hurt you.. I had no right to say that..And you can’t tell me what I said didn’t bother you because I can see it in your eyes.” The more he spoke, the more Louis let a frown tug on his lips. They stayed silent for a few moments, staring at each other, before Louis just shook his head.

“You don’t bother me, no one bothers me. You do not control my happiness, only I do… I'm a leader. I’ll call the shots. Its who I am, so stay out of my way, and I’ll stay out of yours, Nick” He spoke, voice harsh and cold. As he walked away, Nick tried to ignore the pang of something deep in him that he felt when Louis called him Nick, instead of Nicholas…


	4. Chapter Four

The next few days went nearly the same, much to Nick’s chagrin. His classes were quiet, Louis was still talking, laughing, and being his loud rambunctious self, but he wasn’t boldly flirting with Nick. He didn’t slide his fingers through Nick’s hair as he walked past, in the isle. He didn’t move seats, to be by Nick and make his cute little comebacks and remarks like the previous week. It bothered Nick a whole lot more than he thought it would. He remembers feeling the irritation that came with Louis’ lack of personal boundaries and loud personality in his face. But now he was desperate for Louis to even glance in his direction, which he wouldn’t. Louis went out of his way to avoid Nick, and to say that hurt was an understatement. Come Thursday morning in English, Nick was doing anything to get Louis’ attention before the bell rang. He flicked tiny flecks of paper, only earning the occasional glare from one of Louis’ sidekicks. Nick gave up and sat back in his seat, his mood feeling like a downpour of emotions. He didn’t know what it was. But he craved Louis; he didn’t stop thinking about him. And they had only known each other for a short time. It was impossible and Nick tried his hardest to brush it off as him just not having ‘gotten some’ (as Emerson put it) in a while, although he doubted it.

After the bell rang the teacher walked in and immediately up to the board, writing in bold red letters “Romeo and Juliet” across the whiteboard, signaling that was their next topic of study. Half of the class groaned, the rest made noises of approval, Nick just watched Louis, who shot a smile at Thomas, his ‘friend’ to the right. Nick still wasn’t sure what had actually happened, if anything, between them. But he knew that thinking about it made him indescribably mad.

“Why the sour faces? Shakespeare was a genius” The teacher spoke, resigning to leaning against her desk and watching. A girl in the front with long blonde hair and a ridiculously expensive looking manicure spoke up.

“Romeo and Juliet is a cute love story!!” She squealed, turning to her friends and giggling. “I think everyone wants a love story like it” She spoke. The teacher just nodded and looked around. Nick glanced around the room too, his head whipping to the left when the voice he had trained his brain to listen for, spoke.

“I think it’s ridiculous,” Louis started, leaning back in his seat and crossing his arms over his t-shirt clad chest, crossing his legs at the ankles in front of him. “It’s not even considered a love story, or it shouldn’t be. They knew each other like two days before marrying and killing themselves. That's nowhere near real, so I-“ Nick found himself talking immediately, interrupting Louis.

“Six days,” He spoke, his voice quiet in the room, but still heard, everyone turned to look at him, including Louis. He would be lying to himself if he were to say he didn’t nearly pass out from the view of the bright blue eyes that were swirling with annoyance, but still looking at him. The teacher asked him to speak up and repeat what he said. He cleared his throat and leaned back a little in his seat, he was confident, and good at English. He started again. “Six days, that's how long the play lasted. Not two. Romeo and Juliet met on a Sunday at the party, and went Monday to Friar Laurence’s to get married, but they couldn’t be together. Juliet drank the drug on a Tuesday, attempting to fake her death so they could be together, And on Thursday night, or Friday morning, it’s not very specific, Romeo kills himself to be with her when he finds her ‘body’. She wakes, finds him dead, and then kills herself because she can’t live without him.” He finished, letting a satisfied smirk fall over his lips. Louis’ nose was crinkled up, but he was still watching Nick.

“It’s still a stupid and completely unrealistic love story” Louis spoke, voice harsh. Nick just lifted his shoulders.

“I don’t know, maybe. But it isn’t talking about an everyday kind of love, it’s talking about the once in a lifetime kind of love. The kind of love that you couldn’t go without. Shakespeare was talking about a crazy kind of love, that may not make sense to anyone else, but to them it was all that was needed, and it was all that mattered, no matter how it had happened to work out. Not only that, but it ended a feud and settled peace between families. Shakespeare wrote of the instant connection between two people, that drove them to things that other people considered crazy. I’d like to think that if I had that crazy kind of love, It wouldn’t slip between my fingers, no matter how foolish the rest of the world thought I was” Nick finished, eyes not leaving Louis’ once. The class was silent, waiting for Louis’ comeback. Louis just watched Nick for a few minutes before turning away, a sign that the class debate was over. Nick felt mostly smug still, but part of him had an insane fear. Had he just outed himself to the whole class? He didn’t think so, it’s not like he was talking about his feelings, or was he? Nick let out a silent groan and put his head in his hands for the remainder of the class, hating the turmoil spinning deep in his chest. 

~~

Nick stayed at Emerson and Kylie’s house that night after school, just hanging out. He avoided the topic of anything Louis Tomlinson related, much to Kylie’s dismay. Nick finally decided to head home at around 7:30, so he could shower and maybe slide into an early bed. Or more accurately, slide into bed and stare at Louis’ contact name on his phone, going between texting/calling him or not.

When he got home the house was quiet, his mom was sitting with his dad on the couch watching the news. He just kicked off his shoes and said his ‘hello’s before walking to the kitchen and warming up some of the leftover spaghetti. He warmed up a plate and headed up the steps to his room, stopping and walking into his sister’s room to say hi and ask about her day. He stopped at the doorway after he noticed that she had company. Two little girls accompanied Carlee in the room, playing. He recognized them as Daisy and Phoebe. He didn’t know their last name, he had only met them one other time when they came over to visit. He spun around immediately, and walked back down the steps, forking some spaghetti into his mouth. He got to the bottom and sat down in the chair, glancing at his mom.

“Why are her friends here? Isn’t it a school night? That's not fair, I can’t have friends over on a school night” He asked, somewhat whining, because it really wasn’t fair. She was the only girl, so she got spoiled sometimes, and normally Nick didn’t mind. His mom glanced over.

“They had a,” She glanced to the steps to be sure they were empty and the girls would hear, she lowered her voice. “..a family emergency, dear. Jay called me about a half hour ago in a tizzy. Their eldest son, Louis,” She paused again, glancing at the steps, and Nick sat stone-still, gripping the plate a little too hard in his hands. His mouth was faintly gaped, his eyes were probably wider than needed. And he felt a rock land in his chest, he couldn’t move. She glance back at Nick and continued talking finally “ I guess he got into a fight, there were cops, the girls said something about an ambulance. It was bad I guess, but the other guy didn’t want to press charges or anything so they let Louis go. But he didn’t go home. He ran off, or.. I guess drove. He's got his car. Jay figures he couldn’t be too far, but she still brought the girls over so they could go looking for him. I think she mentioned once that he was around your age, maybe you know him. Either way, I guess it was a-“ Nick jumped up and set his plate on the coffee table.

“I have to go” He slid around the couch quickly and slid his shoes on, almost falling to the side. He ignored his mom, who stood repeating his name, asking him where he was going, and instead of replying, he grabbed his keys off the hook and ran out the door. He started his car and backed out, driving. He got to the end of the road before he realized he had no idea where the Tomlinson’s lived, after some quick thinking, he remembered that Kylie did. He pulled out his phone and dialed her number, and after a few seconds of her teasing him, she must have heard the urgency in his voice because she quickly gave him directions. He just thanked her and hung up, dialing Louis’ number, his heart beating hard in his chest as he drove.

There was a fight, and Louis was missing. He found the Tomlinson’s house, a pretty big house, white picket fence, the whole ordeal. Nick slowed his car outside and saw that the house was empty. No one was home. He sighed and took a shaky breath, stopping and redialing Louis’ number. It went straight to voicemail this time. Nick groaned and hung up, sitting for a few seconds before an idea hit him. He drove, struggling to remember the roads. It wasn’t long before he pulled into the clearing that would be littered with cars, on any given Friday night. Louis’ car was there, and he parked right next to it. He got out and jogged to the beach, looking around. It was empty. He glanced up at the cliffs. It was a fair distance away, but he could see someone, legs hanging off the edge, just sitting there. Nick turned and ran, tripping a few times but making his way up through the trees and rocks. He got to the top and there was Louis, sitting in the cooler weather with nothing but a simple tank top and athletic shorts. He didn’t look back, although Nick was sure he knew someone else was there. Nick just made his way to the edge cautiously and sat by him, looking down at the no-doubt freezing cold water below. Louis just looked straight ahead, Nick could see a small cut on his lip, and what looked like a black eye forming on his right side. It was nearing 8, and the sun had gone down, but it was still bright enough that he could see Louis had been crying. Nick slid his arm around Louis’ shoulder, not even thinking twice about it. Louis shoved Nick’s arm away, standing and walking away from the edge, wiping his face. Nick stood and moved. until he was in front of Louis, looking down.

“Louis..what happened?” He asked. Louis just crossed his arms and looked down, shrugging. His body tensed, and he shifted so he was standing, legs shoulder width apart, obviously on the defensive. Nick watched the goosebumps slide up Louis’ arms as the wind whipped past and he tugged off his zip-up. He had a t-shirt on underneath, and he didn’t get cold often anyways. He held it out to Louis, who just looked at it and then up at Nick, who just let a small friendly smile tug at his lips.

“I swear it’s been washed at least once in the last year..” He mumbled, a happy feeling striking through him as the corner of Louis’ lips curved up faintly. Louis reached out for it slowly, sliding it on, and Nick noticed the raw skin poking out of the top of Louis’ tank top. He slowly reached forward and pulled the top back. It looked like a tattoo, clearly unfinished and fresh. Nick had noticed a few smaller and seemingly unimportant tattoos littering Louis’ body. This one looked like the start of a chest piece. There was ink across it, writing out ‘It is what It is’, but the only part that had actually been filled in with anything other than ballpoint pen, was the first ‘It is’. Nick pulled his hand back and let his index finger rest under Louis’ chin, tilting it up, honestly shocked when he didn’t jerk away. Louis had a cut lip, the black eye on his right eye, but other than that nothing much. Louis smiled softly.

“If you think this is bad, you should see the other guy..” He joked. Nick didn’t smile. He dropped his hand away from Louis.

“What happened? Please tell me.. I only got a brief story..” He spoke. Louis chewed the inside of his lip and sighed, sitting against a fallen tree. Nick took the hint and followed suit, sitting a little closer to Louis than he normally would have, their thighs touching.

“I went after school to get this.. ” Louis spoke, motioning to his chest. “I was about fifteen minutes into it when the door chimed, in walked Mark. He's…I don’t get along with him. He was the one that I got suspended last time for fighting. You don’t know him because he dropped out last year, but the fight happened on school property in school hours so I was still suspended. He was picking up his brother, and got bitchy with me. This time he did the same. He started with his comments, I just ignored him. But then he asked about my sisters. He asked how old the oldest was, because he wouldn’t mind a piece, and then he started in on the twins..and… I snapped…The cops showed up, had me in cuffs, all of that. It took an hour at the station, I wrote down my statement and Mark said he wasn’t going to press charges, so they let me go, but of course after calling my parents. I walked out, ran back to the shop for my car. And came here…because it’s quiet and no one would find me….or..I thought no one would..” He finished, his voice tapering off at the end. Nick just watched him, noting the emotions that flew across his face as he spoke about it all, and then at the end, when his face settled somewhere between near tears and angry still. Nick watched as he started working his bottom lip between his teeth, and his jaw started quivering. He was trying to not cry, and he was about to fail. Nick turned his body, tugging at Louis’ arms and legs until Louis got the hint and crawled onto Nicks lap willingly. He laid his head on Nick’s shoulder and cried. Nick sat still, rubbing his hand up and down Louis’ back, and gently rocking side to side. He stayed that way through the stages of crying, the build-up, the hiccupping, and the slow tapering off to just whimpering and body shaking. Nick felt his heart near breaking. 

“Its ok to have a bad day every now and again, you know…” He mumbled, resting his head on Louis’. Who just sniffled and took in a shaky breath. “Everyone breaks sometimes…” He murmured. Louis stayed quiet for a few moments, until the shaking subsided.

“I act like shit doesn’t faze me…but inside it drives me crazy… My insecurities could eat me alive..I’m afraid they will…I have this tough persona…but here I am…crying on the new guy” He pulled away, wiping his face, legs still on either side of Nicks thighs. Nick smiled softly and caught a tear from Louis’ chin.

“I hardly think I should be considered new..I’ve been here three weeks..” He spoke. Louis smiled kind of and nodded. A comfortable silence fell over them. “Can we start over?” He asked. Louis nodded again and Nick grinned, holding out his hand. “I'm Nick..but you can call me Nicholas” He said. Louis let out a small laugh, taking his hand.

“I'm Louis, nice to meet you Nicholas..” He spoke. Nick just let the easy smile come to his face, as his eyes connected with Louis’. Louis looked innocent, he looked vulnerable, childlike, which was something Nick had the feeling that not everyone got to see. Nick just reached out and gently tugged at Louis’ arms, pulling him back down onto his dry shoulder this time.  
Louis just went into the hug easily, closing his eyes and relaxing for the first time in a long time. He didn’t relax often, it wasn’t in his personality to relax. He found it more stressful to relax and let your guard down. But with Nick it was different, and he found himself thinking that he could stay there all night. He knew he needed to call his parents and get home, but he found himself not caring as he held his eyes closed and breathed in the smell of Nick’s soap. They stayed that way for a few moments before Nick spoke, voice soft so he wouldn’t startle Louis.

“You need to call home…If you're not ok to drive, I can take you and we can come back for your car tomorrow after school, if you're willing to hang out with me again..” Nick spoke out. Louis just shook his head and pulled back, standing and wiping his legs from the ground. Nick stood and did the same. Louis started to shrug out of Nicks zip-up, and Nick just shook his head. “It’s fine..I’ll get it back from you some other time..assuming there will be another time..” He ended his statement with a questioning tone. Louis just smiled.

“I would like it if there was another time…Maybe not these exact circumstances, but..” He trailed off. Nick nodded in understanding and agreement, before sliding his fingers in between Louis’, helping guide him back down to the parking area. Louis gripped Nick’s hand, a small giddy smile tugging at his lips. They got to the cars and Nick turned, not loosening his grip on Louis, who looked and felt like to his old self, despite the telltale signs of a fight on his face. He looked up at Nick, sliding to his tiptoes and pressing a quick kiss onto the corner of Nick’s mouth.

“Thank you, Nicholas…so much. I’ll talk to you tomorrow..” He promised, pulling away and sliding into the car. Nick stood and watched him leave, waiting until he was gone to let the face splitting smile appear. He got into his car and grabbed his phone from where he left it in the passenger seat. He had three missed calls from home, two texts from his mom, two from his dad, and four calls from his mom’s cell phone; mixed with three voicemails, chances were that he would be grounded for the rest of his life. But he wasn’t too sure that he cared at the moment…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More soon, what do you guys think so far? How are you liking it? Any predictions/general thoughts?:)


	5. Chapter Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Im sorry about the delay, Ive been waiting for my Beta to get back to me, anyways. Heres the last three chapters, enjoy!!:)

Nick rushed to get to school the next morning, he skipped breakfast and left ten minutes early. The halls were nearly empty, and of course Louis wasn’t there yet, but he wanted to be there when he did show up. Nick walked out to the front of the school and sat on the steps watching the kids gradually show up and start piling in. The mid-October air was a little cooler, but tolerable. Nick popped in his headphones and tapped his foot impatiently as he let his mind race. 

He didn’t get grounded, his parents were furious when he got home and he had almost gotten so grounded that people would have wondered if he was even alive still, but he explained that Louis was a close friend (not a total lie) and he had to go and find him to be sure he hadn’t hurt himself. Then Nick apologized and all was well in the house. Nick stayed downstairs on the couch holding his phone, finger hovering over Louis’ contact name for the better part of the night until he decided it was time for bed. The twins had stayed the night, even though Nick offered more than once to run them home. He just wanted to see Louis again, he was a little desperate. 

The longer Nick sat and waited for Louis, the more wild his mind got. He started imagining the worst case scenarios; like Louis showing up today and completely ignoring him again, wanting nothing to do with him and pretending nothing happened yesterday. Did anything happen yesterday? Nick shook the thought out of his head. It wasn’t a dream. He really did have an intimate moment with Louis Tomlinson, he really did lend Louis Tomlinson his zip-up, and Louis Tomlinson really did kiss him. Well…Kind of. It was on the corner of his mouth, Nick was going to count it as a real kiss until the day he died, probably after too. Nicks phone buzzed in his hand and he lifted it to his face quickly, it was a text from Emerson saying that she had gotten sick too, so neither her nor Kylie would be there today. Nick sighed slightly, he would rather them there so he could rant non-stop to them about Louis, but he figured he would just call later, or just go over and keep his distance from them. He typed out a get well to her and then sent one to Kylie, before locking his phone and glancing up, nearly jumping out of his skin at the sudden proximity that was Louis’ face. Louis just smiled and stood up straight in front of Nick on the steps, letting a smile overtake his face. Nick stood up quickly, pocketing his phone and pulling out his earbuds. 

“Hey..” He said almost awkwardly, Louis just rolled his eyes. 

“Hey” Louis mocked, grabbing Nicks arm and heading up the steps and into the school where it was warmer. “Why were you sitting outside? I mean…you don’t feel that cold but Jesus Christ its freezing out there. “ He said, letting go of Nicks arm and walking down the hallway, assuming that Nick would follw to continue talking, which of course he did, because he has to act like a lost puppy. Nick stopped by Louis’ locker with him and Louis glanced over, lifting an eyebrow while still waiting on an answer for his question. Nick rubbed the side of his neck, knowing that he was kind of a shit liar, so telling anything besides the truth was pretty much out of the question.

“I was waiting for you” He mumbled, keeping his voice low and nearly praying that Louis didn’t hear him, or that he did but wouldn’t read too much into it. No such luck. Louis’ head turned immediately in Nicks direction, his jaw dropping and his lips tugging into a smile again. Nick almost groaned at how cute he could be. Louis lifted his hand gently pinching the chubby part of Nicks cheek. 

“Aww…did Nicholas miss Louis?...” He asked, changing his voice so it sounded like he was speaking to a baby. Nick just groaned and closed his eyes, hoping that he was just imagining the flush that was creeping up to his face. Louis flattened his hand on Nicks face and then dropped his hand, his fingers sliding down Nicks jawline, the small caress leaving tingles in its wake. “I'm teasing…you look like you're about to cry..” Nick opened his eyes and shook his head, he was most certainly not going to cry, he was just…a little flustered. Normal people couldn’t get him flustered, no matter what was said or done. But Louis wasn’t normal people. If anyone else had just pinched his cheek, spoke in third person, and spoke in a baby voice, he would have had a million smart remarks, or just simply batted their hand away. But it was Louis, and Nick was a bucket of Goo around Louis, there was no hiding it or denying it. It worried him that Louis might have noticed as well. 

“I'm not gonna cry..” He muttered, glancing at Louis. 

“I'm dubious…but ill let it slide.” Louis spoke, turning away and grabbing a few things out of his locker before shutting it and turning to face Nick, mouth gaped like he was going to say something, but he paused as a few people approached, Nick glanced over and was greeted by the questioning stares of Louis’ friends. They all looked from Nick to Louis, and back, the silence growing awkward after a few seconds. Nick just excused himself and headed to class, he dropped himself in his seat and doodled on the inside of his notebook. A few minutes later, Louis and his friends came in, sitting in their normal seats, but this time Louis turned his head until he was looking back at Nick. He shot him a blinding smile, and Nick was almost positive that his smile could end wars...

~~

“Dammit” Louis cursed as he dropped himself onto the seat by Nick at lunch. Nick looked up from the book he had been reading and into the frowning face of Louis, who was sitting straddling the bench by Nicks knee, his food tray sitting on the nearly empty table in front of him. Nick lifted an eyebrow. 

“Any particular reason for the random profanity that you are tainting my ears with?” He asked, the corner of Louis’ lips tugged into a grin. 

“Oh, I'm tainting your ears now?” He questioned, Nick just lifted his shoulders and Louis continued. “I forgot your hoodie at home.. I was going to give it back to you today but I forgot it” Louis lied, forming his lips into a frown as he feigned innocence and tried to look genuinely upset. He wasn’t of course. He had no real intentions of giving that sweatshirt back at school. Hell, Nick was lucky he wasn’t still wearing it. After he had gotten home and had gotten an hour of scolding from his parents, he was sent to bed. He didn’t take the zip-up off, he actually zipped it up all the way, pulled the sleeves down so they went past his fingertips, pulled the hood up and curled into his bed under the blanket. He slept with his hands near his face, nose in the material. It could be viewed as crazy. He could say it tied in with stalker tendencies, but he didn’t too much care. It was the best night of sleep he had gotten in awhile. He woke up smelling Nick, like he was right there in the bed. And that was both comforting and scary to someone that didn’t commit or slow down. He wasn’t going to take off the sweatshirt and wear it to school, but halfway out the door he realized that if he did, he would have to give it back to Nick immediately. So he took it off and tossed it on his pillow. Nick shrugged. 

“Its ok, I’m not really rushing for it back. I have a few others.. You can always bring it Monday” He spoke, and Louis smiled. 

“Oooorrr…,” Louis started, dragging out the word to get Nicks attention. (Like he didn’t already have it). “You could meet me at the mall sometime after school and we can get some food and people-watch and ill give it back then…” Louis paused, watching Nick, who was suddenly really interested in examining the cardboard that the school was attempting to pizza on Louis’ tray. Nick faintly panicked, was Louis asking him on a date? Louis felt the smile slip from his face and the confidence leak out of him while watching Nicks reaction. Maybe he was misreading things, maybe Nick didn’t like him, maybe this was too bold. Louis mentally scolded himself, since when was he concerned and second guessing himself? He quickly put the smile back on his face and continued. “Unless you have a hot date, I mean. I'm not busy, so I thought we could hang out” Louis finished speaking and Nick mentally slapped himself and pulled his wits together, glancing up at Louis and agreeing with hopefully smooth composure. Louis sent him another heart melting smile. He didn’t get up and go back to sit with his friends, he stayed with Nick, making small talk, and rolling his eyes each time Nick cracked a joke. 

The next few hours with him were playful, back to normal. Louis would walk by Nick and stick his hand out, sliding his finger across his neck, poking him in the cheek, rubbing his thumb down Nicks ear, he even walked painfully slow in last hour and slid his hand through Nicks hair. The bell rang and Nick turned in his seat, Louis was already gone. Nick nearly sped the whole way home and jumped in the shower. Part of him was screaming at him to calm down because it wasn’t a date, and the other part was trying to beat the first part for saying that. He slid on the same jeans from school, because he didn’t want to look like he tried too hard. But he put on a clean t-shirt. He realized he never asked Louis when he wanted to meet. Nick pulled out his phone and glanced at the time. It was four. He sent Louis a quick text asking, nearly hyperventilating when Louis replied that he was already at the mall and had been waiting for an hour. But he relaxed when Louis sent another text reassuring Nick that it was a joke and he was still at home. They agreed on five. 

Nick got there early and waited, smiling as he seen Louis walk into the mall and look around the food court for him. He was in the same clothes from earlier, his jeans and a plain t-shirt, but he was wearing Nicks zip-up, which was bunched up by his elbows, most likely because it was too large, and dammit if that didn’t make Nicks heart skip a beat. 

They spent the first hour eating, then walked the mall for who knows how long, just talking and laughing. Louis somehow convinced Nick to get into the booth there and take pictures with him. It was all in all an amazing time. Nick hadn’t had that much fun in a long time and it could have been because he was with Louis, who was a completely different person. He wasn’t acting like he does around his friends and the other kids at school, he didn’t have a front up. He was…like a child, dragging nick from store to store, smiling and taking ridiculous pictures that he promised to not put online. They were halfway through the food court again when Louis glanced over to the theatre, it wasn’t a big one, seeing as how it was in a mall, but they normally had a few movies showing. Louis turned grabbing Nicks hand. 

“We have to go see a movie” He said, Nick pulled out his phone with his free hand, ignoring the tingles from his left hand as Louis hands gripped it. It was 6:30 at night. He looked up at Louis, knowing he should be home soon. But then Louis did something that he absolutely couldn’t say no to. Louis pouted. He puffed out his pretty lips and pouted. “Please please ppplllleeeeaaassseee” He asked. Nick just nodded dumbly and let himself be tugged over. Standing in line Nick viewed the options for the movies, Louis immediately yelling out the childs movie, meant for a 6 year old. But Nick agreed and they got tickets, Nick paid of course, refusing money from Louis. Louis didn’t want a drink or popcorn, or so he said. But it wasn’t too long into the movie that Louis was reaching over and stealing bites or drinks. Nick just smiled and pretended not to notice, letting him think he was getting away with something. Nearly halfway through the movie Nick gave up watching it, and watched Louis instead. He noticed the smile never left Louis’ lips. He would laugh at a funny part, frown at the few sad parts, but smile again a second later. He looked…different, vulnerable. And Nick was glad he had let his guard down. He felt like he was getting to know (and like) this Louis a whole lot better. Near the end Louis shifted so his head was on Nicks arm, and for a few moments Nick was waiting for Louis to fall asleep, he didn’t though. The movie ended, and they stood. Nick held out the drink and popcorn.

“Want anymore before I throw it away?” He questioned, raising his eyebrow. Louis laughed and dropped his jaw. 

“You jerk..You knew but you let me think I was sneaky?” He asked, placing his hands on his hips. Nick just laughed and tossed them into the trash, walking out with him. It was 8, and nearing dark. Nick walked out of the mall and followed Louis to his car, trying to think of something to say to avoid the awkward silence that would no doubt follow Louis’ stop. But he didn’t have to think of anything. Louis stopped by his car, and turned, smiling. He looked up at Nick, and Nick found himself bending down slowly, almost like he was afraid to scare Louis. He lifted his hand and rested his fingers on Louis’ jaw as he brushed his lips against Louis’. 

“I had fun…We should do it again, Tomlinson..” He walked away and to his car, leaving Louis just as Louis left him the night before. The smirk stayed on his face until he got home and dropped himself into his bed. Louis still had his zip-up, Nick sighed as the realization dawned on him. He didn’t even get what he went there for. The thought was wiped as soon as it hit his mind. He may not have gotten the hoodie, but in a way, he did get what he went there for…


	6. Chapter Six

The rest of the weekend and the following week was potentially the best week of Nicks life, at least so far. He didn’t go an hour without talking to Louis, during the days, he seen him in class, Louis even switched seats in a few classes so he could sit by Nick, he had taken to sitting with Nick at lunch, Louis’ friends moving with, and Nick had somewhat warmed up to most of them. (He was still bitter and shot Thomas looks whenever he was too close to Louis) And the twins had warmed up to speaking with the whole group, and it was all in all pretty nice. When the school day was over, Nick was either somewhere with Louis, or on the phone with him (whether it a text or a three hour long phone call). 

They still hadn’t established what they were, and it almost scared Nick, he wasn’t sure how to act, really. There had been no more quick kisses, a few hugs near and there, and some of what Nick would consider as serious flirtation but it hadn’t gone further. But Nick had already felt like he had been with Louis for years. It thrilled him when it was just Louis and him alone somewhere, because Louis’ walls would slowly drop, and he would become this completely different person. He would smile bigger, laugh a little louder, and cling to Nick a little more. It wasn’t like he didn’t grab his arm or hug him in school or around the others, he did. But when they were alone, Louis was more…touchy. He was cuddly, he liked in close proximity with Nick, not that Nick was complaining he enjoyed every second of it. 

When last hour came that Friday, Nick found Louis sitting on his desk again, looking down at him. It only lasted a few moments though, before the teacher noticed and scolded him. So Louis groaned and plopped in the seat in front of Nick, turning to talk. 

“We hanging out tonight?” He asked, almost looking hopeful. Nick smiled and went to agree before he remembered, and he let out a low groan. 

“Cant.. I told my sister we would do something” He spoke, thinking back. Carlee wanted to spend some time with him, she asked him about it a few days ago and it had slipped his mind. Louis’ face fell for a few moments and Nick almost cancelled his plans with his sister, almost. Louis’ face was suddenly nearly splitting with a grin. 

“Bring her over! She can stay the night. And you could too…If you wanted…We have the room. And we could all go out for ice cream or something…Please. She will love it” He begged, and even if Nick had planned to say no, there’s no way he would have been able to after that. He just agreed, earning a mega-watt smile from Louis and a small giggle of excitement. Nicks heart melted. 

Although not as much as it would later that night. Carlee quickly agreed, excited about the whole thing and ran to pack her bag. Nicks mom quickly agreed to the whole thing and Nick laid on the couch for awhile, until Carlee tugged him upstairs to his room, claiming he needed to pack. He asked why and she turned, a frown developing on her face. 

“Arent you staying too?” She asked. Nick scratched his neck and glanced around his room, spying the few boxes under the desk that he had yet to unpack still. He didn’t know if he was staying or not, to be honest. He had wanted to, definitely. But he didn’t want it all to be awkward. Carlee pouted and Nick groaned inwardly, between her and Louis’ pout, he was screwed royally. He agreed and grabbed a shirt and a pair of shorts to toss into the bag, along with his phone charger. Carlee observed this from the bed and crossed her arms. “You're not bringing more shirts? Or a pair of jeans? Or even a hairbrush?” She asked, Nick just shook his head, causing her to shrug. Within an hour they were pulling into the Tomlinson’s driveway, Carlee jumping out and running in like she owned the place, leaving Nick to carry in the bags. He didn’t mind though. Louis’ parents were really nice, friendly people. He got to meet Louis’ sisters and all in all the night went impeccably smooth, now back to the heartwarming part. Louis was amazing with the girls. 

They went out for ice cream, to the park, and then back home to build a fort in the basement and watch movies. Nick just spent most of it admiring Louis. Currently it was nearing 10 pm, and they were all tangled on the floor of the basement, blankets and pillows all over, a blanket strung from the table to the couch over them, acting as a fort. The movie was over and they were all asleep. Nick laid with Phoebe’s head on his stomach, Carlee on the other side, between him and Louis, whose head was resting against Nicks wrist. It was quiet a few moments before they started shifting, moving the girls one to one over to their own sleeping areas with blankets, still close, but not all laying on each other. Nick dismantled the fort top and dropped himself onto the couch, body sore from the floor. Louis stretched and excused himself, coming back down the steps with a pop, he handed it to Nick and then climbed over him, sitting on the couch by him, leaning his head on Nicks shoulder. Nick just took a drink and shifted, setting it down and lifting his arm so Louis could cuddle closer. Louis was in a simple pair of sweats and an old t-shirt, he looked ridiculously cuddly and even cuter, if it was even possible. Louis moved into his side easily, the credits ended and it went back to the main menu. Louis spoke, voice low. 

“What are we doing?...” He asked, Nick tilted his head down in an attempt to see Louis, letting the playful grin form at the corners of his mouth. 

“Watching the movie for a second time?” He asked, moving his arm so his hand was resting on Louis’ hip. Louis pulled away and turned on the couch, facing Nick. His face looked serious. 

“No…with…us..what are we doing? ” Louis’ voice was lower as he spoke, partly so he didn’t wake the girls, partly because he was afraid of what he was saying. He wasn’t big on commitment, it scared the hell out of him. He also wasn’t big on being vulnerable, and he was putting himself in that place where Nick could jerk his heart out of his chest and not look back. Nicks face grew serious immediately too. The smile dropped from his lips, being replaced by a thin line. “I mean..this is great..but I don’t know how to act, or be. I don’t know what to say or do because I'm afraid that ill say something and it’ll cross a line that we really haven’t drawn…” His voice traveled off, and Nick nodded. 

“Well..do you want to, you know, give it a shot? Us I mean…” Nick asked, watching Louis, who just shrugged, looking away and thinking about his last relationships, none lasted very long. They either only wanted sex, or they wanted Louis to be 100 committed and making promises of forever, which he couldn’t do. This would be no different, Louis thought as he shifted his eyes back to Nick. Nick was a family man, even if he didn’t want kids and a home and all that now, he would eventually. He would eventually want to settle down and Louis wouldn’t be the one to do that with. He didn’t want to. Nick lifted his hand and gently cupped Louis’ jaw. He looked in Louis’ eyes and spoke, seemingly sensing Louis’ inner battle. “We might be oil and water, this could be a big mistake, we could burn like gasoline and fire, but it’s a chance we’ll have to take..” He spoke, and Louis felt his lips curve up into a smile as a giggle bubbled from his throat. (It was a not-so-manly sound that he would be embarrassed for later)

“Are you quoting song lyrics at me?” he asked, Nick just smiled, small crinkles appearing at the corner of his eyes and he shrugged. 

“Maybe..is it working?” He asked, wiggling his eyebrows, Louis just laughed and leaned forward, gripping Nicks shirt and pressing his lips against Nicks. It was a real kiss, not one that lingered at the side of Nicks mouth, or a brush against Louis’. It was real, it was perfect, and dammit if Nick didn’t feel sparks…

~~

Their first fight was a week later, and it was over so fast that neither really remembered what it was about. Louis discovered he couldn’t fight with Nick, he wasn’t strong enough (if that's the word that you wanted to use). Nick had a talent, he could stay mad at anybody for anything for a fair amount of time, but Louis broke after an hour and called Nick crying and apologizing, Nick came over and they cuddled on the couch watching some TV show. They had a few spats here and there, but it was never anything that wasn’t over before it started. Until the first snow was on the verge of falling and the last game of Louis’ senior year came. He had spent a few days begging Nick to show up. And Nick honestly didn’t want to. 

“I'm sorry, baby. Football isn’t my thing…” Nick paused, putting his hands on Louis’ hips, gently rubbing his fingers there as he tugged Louis to him. Kids slid around them, eager to get home, it was a Friday and school was done. Nick dropped his lips and kissed along the edge of Louis’ jaw and down his neck. “You can come see me after the game.. I'm sure my parents will be asleep..You could stay…” He spoke against Louis neck, moving his mouth up to behind his ear. Louis pulled himself back from Nicks grasp. 

“No thanks. Ill talk to you later” Louis said, voice clipped and short. He turned on his heel and started walking down towards the gym and locker room area. He had practice before the game, which was hopefully going to be quick because it was cold outside. Nick just rolled his eyes, feeling his temper flare, it didn’t show often with Louis, because there was never a reason. But he was just tired and felt like going home. 

“Hey why don’t you just ask Thomas? I'm sure he would love to come and watch you play, cheer you on and maybe even give you a good luck kiss!” Nick shouted, the few people left in the school turned, listening. Louis just stopped and turned. Nick stood there with his hands on his hips. 

“Excuse me?” Louis asked. Nick plastered a sickly sweet smile on his face. 

“You're excused, darling” He retorted. Louis made his way back to Nick quickly, dropping his bag and shoving him back. 

“What the fuck is your problem, Nick?” He asked, Nick started to shrug his shoulders and Louis’ burning blue eyes narrowed. “No. Don’t shrug. You don’t like him, I’ve noticed, he’s noticed, shit..The whole school noticed. Why? I can hang on my other friends, they can hang on me. But as soon as he gets within five feet of me, you stand and clear your throat, or pull me closer. What the hell is the issue?” He shouted. Nick glared back at him. 

“Maybe I don’t like the idea of my boyfriend hanging out with people that he’s slept with, ever think of that??” He snapped back, and Louis face went slack immediately, a small frown tugging at his lips, which Nick misinterpreted as guilt. “Yeah. I fucking heard. After I left the party that night, you hooked up. Great for you, we weren’t together then, whatever. But I don’t like him hanging on you. Did you let the rest of the guys fuck you too? They were all there. Is that why they are friends with you, and stay so close??” He yelled, face within an inch from Louis’. Part of him knew that he was taking this too far, and the other part was too pent up to care. “Is that why you don’t want to sleep with me? Afraid I wont be as good as them? Or are you still getting them on the side and afraid of me noticing? Its bulls-“ A stinging sensation slid through his face and he pulled back, holding his hand on his burning cheek. Louis had slapped him. Louis’ eyes filled up with tears and his bottom lip shook once. He bent grabbing his bag and turned walking away. Nick grabbed his arm, turning him back and Louis jerked out of the touch like it was acid.

“Don’t fucking touch me, Grimshaw” Louis snapped, swiping his arm against the stray tear that fell down his face. He turned and stormed down the hall while Nick stood there, a sinking feeling sliding onto his chest.


	7. Chapter Seven

“Lou-bear? I'm sorry”  
“Baby pls reply..”  
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it”  
“I was just mad..i messed up..”  
“Can I come see you at the practice?”  
“Babe?”  
“Lou you cant ignore me forever”  
“I wanna com to the game. Its at 7 right??”  
Nick tried relentlessly to get Louis to reply to him. He would have chased him down at the school but he needed to pick up Carlee from her school today. He spent his night calling Louis’ cell and texting him non-stop. After the fourth time of him calling, the phone went straight to the voicemail, so Louis had shut it off. Nick just groaned and whipped his phone at the ground, dropping himself against the wall in his room, pulling his knees up and laying his head in his hands. None of this would have happened if he had just gone to the game, he thought. He sat running over the reasons why he was telling Louis no about the game, and then he realized he really didn’t have one. He just didn’t want to be outside in the cold on a Friday night. But his boyfriend, no, his soul mate was asking him to be there to support him. And that should have been enough. He should have just given in and went. Louis would be there to support Nick no matter what he was doing or what the temperature was. And Nick knew it. His mind flashed back to the previous thought of the word soul mate. Was Louis his? It had only been a few months, but yes. Nick was positive. Louis was his soul mate. Louis was the one person he knew he couldn’t live without. Louis was the other part of his love story. Louis was his Juliet. 

Nick pushed to his feet and picked up his phone, grateful it didn’t break. He lit the screen and seen it was 9:30.He didn’t end up going to the game, mainly because he was busy with the internal battle of whether or not he should. He slid his shoes on and slid down the steps, shocked to find the whole house already asleep. He quickly scribbled a note to his mom and walked out. The game was probably over by now, but maybe not, sometimes they ran late. He got into the car and pulled out, getting to the school in a record time. The game was done, the lights were still on over the field and there were people cleaning up. Nick parked by Louis’ car, grateful he was still there. He just needed to get to him and see him, talk to him, explain, grovel at his feet, anything. 

Nick made his way across and to the school, tugging on the doors, of course they were locked. You could get in, but not out. He groaned and sat down against the door to the right, leaning his head back and waiting, and watching the parking lot in case Louis came out a back door. He didn’t, about ten minutes later the door to his left opened and Louis walked past, not even glancing back even though Nick knew he seen him before he was even outside. Nick scrambled to his feet. 

“Lou…” He jogged after him, Louis kept walking. Nick reached out and grabbed him, making Louis turn and jerk his hand again. He spoke, voice shaky, and it wasn’t from the cold.

“Don’t…Don’t touch me…If y..you do, ill break. And ill cry…an..and I’ve been trying so hard to keep it all in…I..” his voice tapered off and he turned, walking again, he got almost to the car and Nick caught up, sliding between him and the door, he put his hand on Louis’ cheek and Louis jerked back. 

“I'm sorry..” He spoke. Louis laughed. 

“Sorry? Yeah..im sorry too. Sorry I thought that there was finally someone who didn’t think I was as promiscuous as the rumors say I am, because I'm fucking not, Nick,” He paused, the tears welling up more in his eyes. He chewed his inner lip for a moment and then spoke, his voice breaking and wavering. “I'm a virgin, is that what you wanted to hear? Those stories you hear? Stories, I'm not completely innocent, so I suppose some are true, yeah. I’ve sucked a dick before. But that's as far as its ever gotten. I was saving my first time for someone special because I liked to believe that no matter how fucked up I was, someone w..would come along and love me,” He looked down to the ground, tears falling freely now. When he spoke his voice was barely a whisper “And I’m so sorry that I’ve wasted your time…” He sniffled, wiping his sleeve across his face again. He stopped and looked at his arm, recognizing Nicks hoodie. He pulled his back from over his shoulder and dropped it, stripping the zip-up off, the cold air hitting his thin tank top clad body. He held it out. Nick just looked at it and to Louis. He shook his head and Louis frowned. “Take it… I don’t want it” Nick just shook his head again. Louis rolled his bloodshot eyes and wiped his face with his free hand. “Why the hell not? I don’t have all night to play these games…I'm tired…I want to go home and sleep..”

“If I take that back from you…it means accepting we are over. And I can’t do that, you should know that by now..I can’t just let you go….not like that. I'm sorry I was a prick…I made a fool of myself because I was jealous.. I don’t believe all the rumors that one just hit me close to home because he was close to you and I did leave you drunk and hurt that night and..im sorry,” He paused, Louis just stood there, staring at a spot on Nicks shoulder, quiet. Nick ran his hand through his hair letting out a breath, knowing he was about to open himself up and lay it bare to be stomped on. “I need you. And it terrifies me…I need you like I’ve never needed anyone else. I can be having the worst day ever, and you just smile at me, or even glance in my direction and I feel like I could fly. Without you by me I wouldn’t know which way to turn. I wouldn’t know what to do. I'm pretty sure I wouldn’t even know how to write my name. It kills me to not talk to you. I need you near me. I was cold to you, I was bitter…I know that sometimes I can lose my temper and I crossed a line earlier, I know I did. And you didn’t deserve it.. No matter how hard it gets between us, I couldn’t leave your side, because if I wanted to leave you, I would have left by now.. But I can’t leave you. Because you're the only one that knows me better than I know myself… And you,” He paused again, Louis looked up and met his eyes, Nick continued. “You have this tough guy persona, but you let your sisters do your nails. You act like nothing matters, but last week before the history test you nonchalantly asked me to study with you. You are such a dynamic person, and I love that about you. I love it… I love you.” He spoke, fully aware that this was the first time he had said it. “And I really need you to love me back, Lou-Bear…” Nicks voice tapered off, quiet. He held Louis’ gaze for a few more moments before Louis looked down at the zip-up in his outstretched hand, Nick glanced down. He could see the goosebumps along Louis’ arms, he had a few along his arms but he wasn’t that cold. Not to mention Louis’ hair was wet, which means he showered in the locker rooms so he was colder. They looked at it a little longer, both of them knowing that if Louis put it back on, it would be more than just warmer arms, it would mean that they weren’t over with., “Put it on…” Nick mumbled, Louis let a smile tug at the corner of his lips and he slid it back over his shoulders. Nick held his arms out and Louis stepped in immediately, wrapping his arms around Nicks waist and tucking his face into his neck. Nick just smiled and slid his arms around Louis, holding him close. He bent his head and tucked his nose into Louis’ hair, not caring that it was damp. He breathed in the smell that was Louis. It was a relaxing smell, it calmed him a gust of wind hit and Louis pressed himself closer into Nick, until they were flush against each other. Nick smiled slowly. 

“If you wanted to be closer, you could have just said so…” He mumbled into Louis’ ear. Louis just smiled and mumbled a shut up. “Come on…come back to mine…let me cuddle you to sleep..and we can go out for breakfast in the morning, just us two..” He murmured. Louis agreed and they headed back to Nicks. Louis slid into bed first, Nick quickly following and pulling Louis against him. He realized he never wanted to sleep any way but like that again. 

~~

*Years Later*

“Amelia! Caden!! Hurry up. You cant be late, again!” Louis shouted from the bottom of the stairs, propping his arms on his chest. He waited a few moments until he heard grumbling and shuffling from the twins upstairs. He walked into the kitchen and glanced at the clock, it read 11:20. It was enough time for the kids to come down, eat their sandwiches and get in the car to get to preschool, they went to the afternoon kind, mainly because Nick liked to take them and he couldn’t in the mornings because of work. Louis turned as the twins ran in, all ready, they set their bags down and popped up at the table, eating their sandwiches and grapes. Louis smiled, watching them. They were four, would be five in a few months. They were both so smart, and quick witted. They fit in. Nick and Louis had adopted them a few years ago, a few months after their wedding. Louis smiled at the memory and glanced down at his hand, twirling the ring. He smiled and thought about the last few years. Things had gone perfectly. Like a love story. He remembered Nick proposing, he had done it in the middle of Louis’ first game at Uni. He remembered first getting the twins, They were both ecstatic. And fell into a routine quickly. The routine changed over the few years to alter their schedules but it was always nearly the same, with Nick getting up before Louis was even half conscious and heading down to the radio station, he was always back and would help make breakfast, and then crawl back into bed for a few hours. And then when Louis went to work at the studio and Nick would take the kids to the school, Louis would grab them on his way home, they would come home, and start again the next day. Amelia’s voice pulled him out of his daze. 

“Daddy?” She asked through her bite of sand which, Louis looked over and smiled. 

“Yes sweetheart?” He asked. 

“Are you taking us to school today or is dad?” She asked. They had quickly picked up on set names for them too, without Nick or Louis trying or saying anything. Louis was daddy, unless they were talking to someone that didn’t know them intimately and wouldn’t know that, in which case it was ‘daddy Lou’. Nick was dad, but ‘daddy Nick’ when talking to someone. Louis glanced at the clock as he moved to the door and slid his shoes on, he had to get going.

“Your dad is. I have to get to work, honey, you know that. But I will be there as soon as the bell rings to get you guys. I want you both to go in, learn something new, it’s the letter G today right?” He asked, they both nodded. They were learning a letter a day, and doing very well. Louis smiled and kissed both of their heads and headed up the steps to make sure that Nick was awake and would be ready to take them to school in about a half hour. He opened the door and Nick glanced over from by the dresser where he was tugging on pants, hair wet from a shower. Louis stopped in the doorway. 

“The kids are eating, their bags are all set, all you have to do is get them there, like normal. I have to go before I'm late” He said, Nick just looked over, a small smile forming on his face.

“Don’t worry so much, I have this.. “ he said, Louis nodded and made his way across the room, lifting his arms and resting them around Nicks neck, sliding to his tiptoes and kissing him. They had a few rules in their marriage, which Louis loved. 1) Never go to bed angry and 2) Never leave without a kiss goodbye. “I’ll miss you today…Ill see you tonight.. we can get some takeaway and watch a movie…” Nick mumbled against Louis’ lips. Louis just pulled away and smiled, nodding his head. He leaned in again and pressed a kiss to Nicks lips before turning to walk out. Nick whistled from his place in the room and Louis smiled, turning his head to wink at Nick, feeling the flush creep to his face. It was crazy to think that after that many years he still had that effect on Nick, and Nick still had the same effect on him. They really did have that crazy kind of love. And when you find that, you don’t let it go..

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whatd you guys think?? Comment and let me know:)


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